Jemma: A Weekend Bag That Comes With a Side of Female Empowerment

I’m a Jemma Girl. I didn’t know it, initially. All I knew was that I was kind of obsessed with my new summer weekend bag—soft navy nylon with leather handles and a striped interior, not too girly, and pockets for everything (my shoes! My phone! My laptop!). Plus it came with a chic little makeup bag. I’d been schlepping the Jemma “Jackie” to and from the Jersey Shore for weeks before I met its maker, Joanna Lau, who told me there’s more to Jemma than just owning a tote. You get a community on the side.

“I want to grow the brand beyond bags,” says Lau, a 29-year-old Singapore native who was a trader at JP Morgan in New York before making the jump two years ago to self-fund her own company. And it’s not just millennial-speak for “I want to be an Instagram influencer.” When she isn’t handpicking materials in Italy for her work bag, travel bag, or wallet crossbody (all stylish and reasonably affordable), or answering customer service concerns, or flying to China to check on production, she’s planning meetups (hashtag #jemmagirl) for like-minded women with an entrepreneurial spirit...and a love of bags. (Lau admits to having “hundreds” of bags herself, in a closet bigger than the one for her clothes.) Kate Spade and Sara Blakely, the self-made billionaire behind Spanx, are Lau’s inspiration, and her 27-year-old sister, Emma—half the name of the company (Joanna + Emma = Jemma)—is the prototype consumer.

Closing the gender gap, one bag at a time: Joanna Lau and her Poppins bag.

Courtesy Jemma

And then there are the JemmaGirl Bosses—part of a program Lau launched that turns fans into brand ambassadors who get a cut of the profits. “The goal is to empower JemmaGirls to be their own entrepreneur, personifying ambition and the go-getter approach,” she writes on her site. Seeing as how Lau is a team of one-plus (she has dedicated PR and social media help), with the hopes to grow in the coming years, every bit helps. The fact that she’s trying to create a brand, and a lifestyle, and a community all on her own makes me think twice as I head out the door for a long weekend at the beach.